A Short Meeting
by blackcat9517
Summary: T'was the night before christmas, a thief and a young boy crossed paths.


**This is dedicated to all the members on Authors of Gakuen Alice. Enjoy ;)**

**Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice belongs to Tachibana Higuchi. **

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><p>It was a cold night on the 24th of December here in Tokyo. Most people were indoors, watching a Christmas movie or just spending time with the family. Even petty thieves and small time criminals decided to take the night off but that doesn't count for a particular thief. The man had broken into a bank fifteen minutes ago and stole all the money from the vault. He had stored the wads on of cash safely into his backpack before making a run for it. Now, Natsume Hyuuga was jumping from building to building, happy with the success of his heist.<p>

The thief had estimated that he managed to get at least 5 million Yen and that was more than enough for his little sister's operation. He quickly hid behind an air-conditioning unit as a chopper passed by, searching for him. Natsume smirked. Too bad this was going to be his last heist. He had promised himself that he'll never steal again once he gets enough money for Aoi's surgery. Moments later, he passed a Skyrim billboard and resisted the urge to chuckle.

Earlier this week, Mikan's brother had visited them and he didn't like him that much. Natsume couldn't understand half of the jokes Tsubasa made. One for example is the 'took an arrow in the knee joke' which originated from a popular game called 'Skyrim'. He shook the thought away and focused on escaping from the police. He wasn't going to let the money slip away that easily.

Natsume had been working at a local supermakerket but his salary could hardly buy the medications Aoi needed. His girlfriend, Mikan Sakura had been very helpful by helping him pay the meds but her salary is small compared to the monthly bill from the hospital. When she had asked where he got the money, he simply stated that he worked overtime and had a couple of different jobs during the weekends. Mikan didn't buy his story at first but then she thought about the nights where he would come home in the wee hours of morning. She then had adviced him not too work too hard or he'll end up getting sick.

Natsume looked around the area for any cops before climbing down the apartment building via the rusty ladder. As he silently creeped down the stairs, he could hear the sirens getting louder and louder. It was then a police car drove into the empty alleyway and Natsume reacted fast by jumping into the open window at his right. He landed with a soft thud and got up, snatching the backpack from the floor. The thief scanned the room. He was in some random house decorated with all sorts of Christmas ornaments. He walked passed the small living room which had a tree in it and reached for the door knob when a young boy of not more than seven years old stood in front of him. He clutched a teddy bear under his arms and his sleepy eyes met Natsume's.

"Santa Claus?" the boy asked sleepily.

Natsume froze for a moment. What was he supposed to do? Play along? He didn't want the kid's parents to wake up. "Uh... yeah..."

His face the lit up "You came! I knew you came!" the boy stated with excitement.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed, kid?"

The boy arched an eyebrow "I wanted to ask something from you, Santa Claus and my name is Youichi."

Natsume let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose "Alright ki- Youichi. What do you want?"

Youichi stared at 'Santa Claus' for a moment before asking "Why are you thin?"

The thief suppressed a groan before replying "I have to deliver presents to millions of kids in one night. How can you expect me not to lose weight?"

"That's logical but where's your beard?"

The man mentally face-palmed "I shaved. My face felt like a mini jungle."

Youichi continued to stare at him, 'Since he's no longer fat, the huge red suit must be too big for him so he has to wear something smaller.' the boy thought. He then asked one more question "Where's your toy sack?"

Natsume was quiet for a moment before coming up with a lie "The elves created a backpack which can store all the kids' toys. It's a new technology." he deadpanned and then decided to cut to the chase "Listen Youichi, I haven't got all night so see ya." Natsume walked passed him and reached for the door when suddenly the boy blocked the door with his small body. 'At least the kid didn't ask where my sleigh was.' Natsume thought.

"I need your help, Santa. My daddy has been sick for a year and I want him to get better. That's all I ask for." Youichi said in a pleading tone. His eyes were filled with sadness "I overheard the doctor say my mommy needs one million yen for the operation. Please, Santa. Give my daddy something so that he won't be sick."

Natsume continued to stare into his eyes, they were extremely innocent and sad. He closed his eyes and sighed before kneeling down to the boys height. He opened the zipper of his backpack and took out ten wads of cash and gave it to the boy. Youcihi stared at him in disbelief.

"I thought you only give toys and small gifts."

"I'm Santa, kid. I have a bank account in Switzerland."

The boy the looked at the money in his small hands "At least you didn't steal it because I know you won't."

The thief felt a little guilty at the child's remark. He had only nodded in repsonse, not wanting to talk about where he got money any further.

Youichi thanked him for the money and hugged 'Santa Claus'.

"Thank you very much, Santa."

He smiled and ruffled the child's messy hair "Not a problem, kid."

Natsume then stood up and told Youichi to go to bed but before that, the boy had told him to drink the milk and eat the cookies on the small table beside the christmas tree. He rolled his eyes and ate his snacks. "Go to bed, ki- Youcihi and uh... Merry christmas."

The boy smiled and nodded before going to his bedroom. As soon as the thief was sure the boy was gone, he headed for the door and slowly opened it, making sure not to make too much noise. He then silently closed the door and walked away with a small smile on his face.

For the rest of the night, Youichi Hijiri slept peacefully without any nightmares to bother him. His father is going to be fine thanks to Santa Claus.

Twenty minutes later, Natsume managed to safely reach the small apartment he shared with his girlfriend. It wasn't the best place to live but at least it was a nice neighbourhood. He took out his keys and opened the door to see Mikan peacefully sleeping on the couch with a warm blanket wrapped around her small frame in the living room with 'It's a Wonderful Life' screened on the television. Tonight is definitely his last heist for good.

_The End. _

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><p><em>To those celebrating the holiday, Merry Christmas!<em>


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